Clinton, Trump trade barbs over 2016 Election results

(Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images/Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton spoke at a Women for Women International event in New York and laid the blame for her defeat at the feet of FBI Director James Comey.

“If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president,” Clinton told moderator Christiane Amanpour. “I was on the way to winning until the combination of Jim Comey’s letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off — and the evidence for that intervening event is, I think, compelling [and] persuasive.”

Almost predictably, Donald Trump took to Twitter to respond to Clinton’s comments, writing over the course of two tweets 15 minutes apart, “FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony … Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?”

FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2017

…Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election. Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2017

But Trump’s response had already been predicted, and Clinton was ready for the inevitable tweeting.

“If he wants to tweet about me then I am happy to be the diversion because we have lot of things to worry about,” Clinton said, adding, “He should worry less about the election and my winning the popular vote than doing some other things that would be important for the country.”